Norristown Planning Commission to review senior housing proposal for former Kennedy-Kenrick High School

By
Carl Rotenberg, The Times Herald

Monday, July 8, 2013

NORRISTOWN ­­— The proposed 208-unit senior housing project at the former Kennedy-Kenrick Catholic High School will add 69 new vehicle trips during the weekday AM “peak” hour and 93 new vehicle trips during the weekday PM “peak” hour, according to a traffic impact study submitted to the Norristown Planning Commission.

The June 27 study, produced by Traffic Planning and Design (TPD) of Pottstown, and the preliminary site plans by the developer, Hallman Retirement Neighborhoods of Pottstown, will be reviewed by the planning commission at 7 p.m. Tuesday.

The proposed $50 million project will include 46 units and a community center in the former high school, two multi-family buildings with a total of 98 units, 28 townhouses and two single-family homes for residential staff on the main school property at Johnson Highway and Arch Street. The plan also calls for the former convent building to be razed and a 36-unit building and a separate, two-story retail/medical office building to be built in the former parking lot off Arch Street.

Two driveways will be built on Johnson Highway including a full-access driveway and a limited-access (egress only) driveway located 200 feet west of Arch Street. Four full-access driveways will be built on Arch Street.

The traffic study was based on traffic counts conducted on March 21, said Robert Richardson, a TPD senior vice president.

The study projected 730 “residential” trips and 398 “office” trips in an average weekday at the senior housing development.

The traffic engineers made several recommendations to improve traffic flow in and out of the complex. The recommendations include adding left-turn lanes on the northbound Arch Street and the southbound Old Arch Road at the intersection with Johnson Highway; adding stop signs to the Arch Street and East Logan Street/access driveway intersection; adding stop signs for exiting traffic from the two, new driveways onto Johnson Highway and adding stop signs for exiting traffic from the four driveways onto Arch Street.

The traffic study projected the level of service for southbound traffic on DeKalb Pike turning left onto Johnson Highway would decrease from an “E” level of service to an “F” level of service after the project is built. The other turning movements at the nearby intersection had service levels ranging from “A” to “D.”

Johnson Highway handles an average of 12,416 vehicles per day and DeKalb Pike handles an average of 7,063 vehicles per day, the study said.

A traffic study was required for all retirement community developments with 50 or more units when the retirement community overlay district zone was unanimously adopted by Norristown council on Nov. 20, 2012.

The three new residential buildings will have first-floor parking under each building and three floors of residential units above. There will be a total of 374 parking spaces, including eight ADA handicap parking spaces, according to a Jan. 14 review letter from Jean Holland, a community planner for the Montgomery County Planning Commission. Holland recommended adding more ADA parking spaces to buildings A, B and C.

Holland questioned why the preliminary site plans labeled 52 trees for removal but did not include the required 2 to 2.5 caliper replacement trees.

“The ‘existing features and demolition plan’ shows at least 29 mature trees (336 DBH inches) labeled to be removed although other mature trees may be impacted by the proposed grading,” Holland said in the review letter. “No replacement trees have been proposed for mature trees.”

Holland said that buffer planting between the proposed development and the existing residential homes had not been included in the plans. “A softening buffer that consists of one canopy tree, two understory trees and two evergreen trees is required for every 100 feet of property line,” she said, “There are some existing trees that may help fulfil this requirement provided they are not damaged during construction.”

Holland said that parking lot landscaping, parking structure buffer plantings and stormwater basin plantings had not been included in the site plans.